Bruins look to turn the page, write another chapter

Nearly 48 hours after the Boston Bruins’ epic Game 7 comeback victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, “The Miracle on Causeway Street” is still a hot topic of discussion around The Hub of Hockey.

Several callers are still expressing their excitement on 98.5 The Sports Hub. Many Bruins fans are going to YouTube watching Jack Edwards jump up and down for joy after Patrice Bergeron’s game-winner. NESN-plus replayed Game 7 in its entirety on Tuesday night.

That victory is now a thing of the past in the Bruins locker room.

After a day off on Tuesday for rest and relaxation, the Bruins returned to practice on Wednesday to focus on the New York Rangers 24 hours prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

It’s no secret that the Bruins have been in this situation before. Just look at their Cup run two years ago where they had to face the Philadelphia Flyers three days after Nathan Horton delivered the overtime winner in Game 7 against Montreal Canadiens. Two rounds later, the Black and Gold prepared for the Stanley Cup Finals after another Game 7 winner from Horton against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Many veterans on the team have been through this before. And even with some new faces in the lineup, like Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski, the B’s are turning their attention to the Blueshirts.

“Part of the playoffs is to be in the moment and look in the past and not look ahead. It’s about that next day and that next day,” said Bergeron, who was named a finalist again for the Selke Trophy on Wednesday. “Right now, we are worried about round two as we should be.”

This isn’t to say that some of the Bruins re-lived Monday’s heroics. While Bergeron hasn’t watched the game in its entirety, the even-keeled forward admitted that he saw some highlights during his day off.

“I haven’t watched the game, but I saw some highlights obviously,” the Bruins assistant captain said.

“Yesterday was a day to make sure that you rest and you get ready for the second round. It was a good day [off] to have and just to turn the page like we’ve been saying and focus on tomorrow’s game now.”

Tuesday was a day of rest and a day to close another chapter in Boston Bruins history. Wednesday was a day of getting focused for the second round opponent.

Come Game 1 Thursday, the Bruins hope to write another chapter when they step on the ice to face the Rangers for the first postseason meeting between the two teams in 40 years.

“It’s got nothing to do with this series now. Everything that happened [against Toronto] is in the past now and we know that,” Horton said about closing the book on the Bruins-Leafs series. “It was a crazy game and a great comeback, but it doesn’t mean anything now. We’re starting a new series, a new round and a new team. And we definitely have to be a lot better.”

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